Mauritania: Repression of peaceful protests in Mauritania

Amnesty International
23 April 2009

The Mauritanian authorities have violently cracked down on two peaceful demonstrations this month.

In April 2009, two demonstrations attended by political parties and members of civil society were violently repressed. The demonstrators wanted to stage a peaceful protest against the electoral timetable imposed by the authorities who took power in the wake of the military coup of August 2008. The coup leaders overthrew the Mauritanian government, in office since the multi-party presidential elections of March 2007.

On 19 April, the police had used force to disperse a group of women who tried to organise a sit-in in front of the United Nations headquarters in Nouakchott. Many women, including former ministers, members of parliament and human rights defenders, were kicked or beaten with batons and belts.

One of the victims of this repression, Mme Nebghouha Mint Mohamed Vall, former Education Minister, told Amnesty International: "I was hit by police officers. I lost my veil and when my daughter tried to retrieve it she, too, was beaten."

Another demonstrator, Chicha Mint Benna, daughter of Mohamed El Hafedh Ould Denna, president of the opposition Mauritanian Labour Party, fell unconscious after being beaten and had to be hospitalised.

Two weeks earlier, on 2 April, the police violently repressed a demonstration organised by the Coordination of Democratic Forces (a coalition formed by the opposition party, the National Front for the Defence of Democracy (FNDD), trade union federations, human rights and civil society organizations). The demonstrators were protesting against the decision to organise a presidential election on 6 June 2009, which they saw as an attempt to legitimise last year's military coup.

One human rights defender, Boubacar Messaoud, president of the non governmental organisation, SOS Slaves, was beaten up by police at the demonstration. He told Amnesty International: "They beat me on the back with batons and carried on until I lost consciousness. The doctor who examined me later said that the blow to my neck could have killed me".

Several members of parliament, including Kobade Ould Cheick and Mohamed Moustapha Ould Bedredine, identifiable by their official sashes, were also beaten and the police fired teargas at them.

Amnesty International has called on the Mauritanian authorities to respect the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, without the use of violence.

Lebanon: Lebanon’s politicians urged to focus on human rights in election campaigns

Communiqué from Amnesty International/US - Lebanon’s electorate goes to the polls in a national election on 7 June. Amnesty International has written an open letter to political leaders calling on them to put human rights at the centre of their election campaign.

In the letter published on Thursday, Irene Khan, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, urges political leaders in the country to firmly entrench the protection and promotion of human rights in both the law and in practice. The letter identifies five key steps:

* Reform the justice system to ensure it is independent and to guarantee fair trials;

* End all arbitrary detention and torture and other ill-treatment;

* End impunity for grave human rights violations and establish mechanisms to ensure justice, truth and reparation for victims of past gross abuses of human rights;

* End all discrimination and violence and other abuses against women and members of marginalised groups;

* Enact legislation to abolish the death penalty for all crimes.

Irene Khan also urged campaigning parties to display respect for freedom of expression, assembly and other rights essential to the conduct of political life during their campaigns.

Political divisions in Lebanon have hindered the full realization of human rights in the country. The June elections represent a new opportunity to build upon the period following the Doha Agreement of last May, the formation of the national unity government and the subsequent election of Michel Suleiman as President.

There have been some positive human rights developments in the country in recent months. In December 2008, Lebanon ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. In addition, a draft law to abolish the death penalty is now under active consideration.

The Lebanese authorities have also clearly recognized that concrete action is needed to improve the conditions of thousands of migrant domestic workers and hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees who live in the country.

The establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in February and the current parliament’s development of a national Human Rights Action Plan are two other potentially positive developments, which if built upon could help lead to a far-reaching programme of human rights reform.

23 April 2009